Looking for good Vampire books

Laura81 · 11-04-2011, 08:57 AM

Can anyone recommend some good Vampire books? My definition of good is the vampires do not sparkle. They like drinking blood. They are not ashamed to be vampires. And no romance. I don't care if romance is a part of the book, but I'm not looking for a vampire romance novel. Thanks for any recommendations.

alansplace · 11-04-2011, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laura81

Can anyone recommend some good Vampire books? My definition of good is the vampires do not sparkle. They like drinking blood. They are not ashamed to be vampires. And no romance. I don't care if romance is a part of the book, but I'm not looking for a vampire romance novel. Thanks for any recommendations.

The Blood That Bonds by Christopher Buecheler

Quote:

"In the tradition of 'True Blood,' The Blood That Bonds presents vampires that are both attractive and terrifying — three-dimensional beings with a complex culture and fascinating history. Two is likewise a captivating heroine who struggles both with the dark vampire world and her own bleak background of human misery. The result is a Dennis-Lehane-meets-Anne-Rice romantic thriller that fans of dark vampire fiction will love."

—Diana Laurence
Author of How to Catch and Keep a Vampire & Bloodchained

and there's now a sequel, Blood Hunt, which i'm going to go and buy right now at smashwords

Penforhire · 11-04-2011, 01:51 PM

I liked Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series, starting with Already Dead. Vampire-urban-noir.

alansplace · 11-04-2011, 04:05 PM

went and bought blood hunt at smashwords for $2.99. I'm going to read it next (later today) after i finish gladiator

JeremyR · 11-04-2011, 08:41 PM

I dunno if they are ebooks, but I always liked Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's stuff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_S..._%28vampire%29

alansplace · 11-04-2011, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

I dunno if they are ebooks, but I always liked Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's stuff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_S..._%28vampire%29

18 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro ebooks at amazon

FatDog · 11-04-2011, 09:00 PM

You have read the original Dracula? It's public domain and very well written.

There is a ... series called the "Black Knight" books about two guys who get bitten, become vampires but try to make ends-meet by starting a detective agency. Not great literature but fun.

You have read the Vampire Lestat novels by Anne Rice?

How about "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King? One of his first works and ... well I slept with a rosary nearby for a week after reading it.

I need help with this one: there is a series of books set in Toronto about a police detective who had to leave the force due to a degenerative eye problem. But she discovers Vampires are infecting the city. There are several books and they even made a short-lived TV series based on the characters. I read the first book - but it's in a box somewhere.

wallcraft · 11-04-2011, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FatDog

You have read the Vampire Lestat novels by Anne Rice?

The first three are all excellent and are available as one ebook for $15.99 in the US (Amazon ASIN: B004WY2M8I).

alansplace · 11-04-2011, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FatDog

....I need help with this one: there is a series of books set in Toronto about a police detective who had to leave the force due to a degenerative eye problem. But she discovers Vampires are infecting the city. There are several books and they even made a short-lived TV series based on the characters. I read the first book - but it's in a box somewhere.

Blood Books by Tanya Huff

Laura81 · 11-04-2011, 10:32 PM

Hey all, will check out your recommendations and thank you!

I have read Salem's Lot, one of my favourite Stephen King books

ATDrake · 11-05-2011, 12:34 AM

Second the recommend for Tanya Huff's Blood Books, which are very good and very entertaining, and add one for Barbara Hambly's Asher & Ysidro series, which originally began as the standalone Those Who Hunt the Night, which was a Locus Best Horror Novel in 1989 or so and won a Lord Ruthven award. It's a truly excellent gaslight murder mystery with some very unrepentant classic vampires.

In a spoofier vein, Terry Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum, in the Discworld series, manages to satirize a lot of traditional and media-inspired beliefs about "vampyres" while also telling a fairly good story at the same time. If you like his take on things, prominent vampire supporting characters later show up in The Truth and Thud! further down the line.

Some of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint-Germain (and related spinoff) books are available via Fictionwise in MultiFormat, which makes them DRM-free and compatible with just about any reader. This also happens to make them discountable to a very cheap price when Fictionwise has its 40%+ weekend discount coupons which pop up in the Deals forum right here on MR.

The titles available via FW also have the advantage of being some of the very earliest out-of-print ones in the series, so you can try the start of the books at a fairly low cost. Although the Saint-Germain books are written all over the time line, chronologically, so there's not really a formal order and they're basically mostly standalone "episodes" in his life.

Solitaire1 · 11-05-2011, 01:30 AM

A comic book series I'd recommend that features vampires is "American Vampire," published by Vertigo Comics (an imprint of DC Comics). It is about a mutant strain of vampires that came into existence in the United States and their conflict with the traditional vampires. Among their differences is that american vampires, while they have their limitations, are not weak to wood, don't have to sleep during the day, and don't have to avoid the sun.

It is a well-written series (with part of the early issues written by Stephen King), that jumps around a bit in time (some stories take place in the Old West, others in the 1930s). Several of the stories have been collected as trade paperbacks. It is worth a read.

Laura81 · 11-05-2011, 03:33 AM

Thanks ATDrake! Will add to the list.

Solitaire1 - Thanks! Will see if I can find any in ebook format.

melmac · 11-05-2011, 03:44 AM

There was a Barnes and Noble Blog post about good Vampire books the other day
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/...e/ba-p/1190246
I haven't read the one featured but have added it to the TBR pile as it sounded good. There are a couple of others mentioned in passing in the article one of which is The Passage which is a great book

BaenSidhe · 11-05-2011, 03:50 AM

Have you tried the Vampire Files by P.N. Elrod? They're vampire detective stories ala the Dresden Files set in the 1930s or so. She also has a quartet set around the Revolutionary War about a vampire that has a cameo in the Vampire Files.

11-04-2011, 08:57 AM	#1
Laura81 Addict Posts: 360 Karma: 407796 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Victoria, Australia Device: Paperwhite 5	Looking for good Vampire books Can anyone recommend some good Vampire books? My definition of good is the vampires do not sparkle. They like drinking blood. They are not ashamed to be vampires. And no romance. I don't care if romance is a part of the book, but I'm not looking for a vampire romance novel. Thanks for any recommendations.

11-04-2011, 04:05 PM	#4
alansplace Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,886 Karma: 464403178 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: 33.9388° N, 117.2716° W Device: Kindles K-2, K-KB, PW 1 & 2, Voyage, Fire 2, 5 & HD 8, Surface 3, iPad	blood hunt went and bought blood hunt at smashwords for $2.99. I'm going to read it next (later today) after i finish gladiator Attached Thumbnails

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11-04-2011, 01:51 PM	#3
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	I liked Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series, starting with Already Dead. Vampire-urban-noir.

11-04-2011, 08:41 PM	#5
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	I dunno if they are ebooks, but I always liked Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_S..._%28vampire%29

11-04-2011, 09:00 PM	#7
FatDog Witless protection Agent Posts: 290 Karma: 1002898 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kindle	You have read the original Dracula? It's public domain and very well written. There is a ... series called the "Black Knight" books about two guys who get bitten, become vampires but try to make ends-meet by starting a detective agency. Not great literature but fun. You have read the Vampire Lestat novels by Anne Rice? How about "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King? One of his first works and ... well I slept with a rosary nearby for a week after reading it. I need help with this one: there is a series of books set in Toronto about a police detective who had to leave the force due to a degenerative eye problem. But she discovers Vampires are infecting the city. There are several books and they even made a short-lived TV series based on the characters. I read the first book - but it's in a box somewhere.

11-04-2011, 10:32 PM	#10
Laura81 Addict Posts: 360 Karma: 407796 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Victoria, Australia Device: Paperwhite 5	Hey all, will check out your recommendations and thank you! I have read Salem's Lot, one of my favourite Stephen King books

11-05-2011, 12:34 AM	#11
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Second the recommend for Tanya Huff's Blood Books, which are very good and very entertaining, and add one for Barbara Hambly's Asher & Ysidro series, which originally began as the standalone Those Who Hunt the Night, which was a Locus Best Horror Novel in 1989 or so and won a Lord Ruthven award. It's a truly excellent gaslight murder mystery with some very unrepentant classic vampires. In a spoofier vein, Terry Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum, in the Discworld series, manages to satirize a lot of traditional and media-inspired beliefs about "vampyres" while also telling a fairly good story at the same time. If you like his take on things, prominent vampire supporting characters later show up in The Truth and Thud! further down the line. Some of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint-Germain (and related spinoff) books are available via Fictionwise in MultiFormat, which makes them DRM-free and compatible with just about any reader. This also happens to make them discountable to a very cheap price when Fictionwise has its 40%+ weekend discount coupons which pop up in the Deals forum right here on MR. The titles available via FW also have the advantage of being some of the very earliest out-of-print ones in the series, so you can try the start of the books at a fairly low cost. Although the Saint-Germain books are written all over the time line, chronologically, so there's not really a formal order and they're basically mostly standalone "episodes" in his life.

11-05-2011, 01:30 AM	#12
Solitaire1 Samurai Lizard Posts: 14,264 Karma: 66698846 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: NookColor	A comic book series I'd recommend that features vampires is "American Vampire," published by Vertigo Comics (an imprint of DC Comics). It is about a mutant strain of vampires that came into existence in the United States and their conflict with the traditional vampires. Among their differences is that american vampires, while they have their limitations, are not weak to wood, don't have to sleep during the day, and don't have to avoid the sun. It is a well-written series (with part of the early issues written by Stephen King), that jumps around a bit in time (some stories take place in the Old West, others in the 1930s). Several of the stories have been collected as trade paperbacks. It is worth a read.

11-05-2011, 03:33 AM	#13
Laura81 Addict Posts: 360 Karma: 407796 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Victoria, Australia Device: Paperwhite 5	Thanks ATDrake! Will add to the list. Solitaire1 - Thanks! Will see if I can find any in ebook format.

11-05-2011, 03:44 AM	#14
melmac Wizard Posts: 1,399 Karma: 5573651 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Perth AU Device: Sony PRS650, Sony T3	There was a Barnes and Noble Blog post about good Vampire books the other day http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/...e/ba-p/1190246 I haven't read the one featured but have added it to the TBR pile as it sounded good. There are a couple of others mentioned in passing in the article one of which is The Passage which is a great book

11-05-2011, 03:50 AM	#15
BaenSidhe Groupie Posts: 150 Karma: 1087916 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: PRS-500 and PRS-650	Have you tried the Vampire Files by P.N. Elrod? They're vampire detective stories ala the Dresden Files set in the 1930s or so. She also has a quartet set around the Revolutionary War about a vampire that has a cameo in the Vampire Files.

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